Paper feeding mechanism



Sept. 19, 1933. H. o. FISCHER ET AL PAPER FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 28, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 INVENTORS HERMAN/V 0770 1730/1512 ik mm .B FULLER M ATTORNEYS.

P 1933- H. 0.,FISCHER El AL PAPER' FEEDING MECHANISM Filgd Oct'. 28, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f' ERIC .8. FILLER 4' y-aol/ A TTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 19, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAPER. FEEDING MECHANISM Application October 28, 1931. Serial No; 571,506

12 Claims.

This invention relates to sheet feeding devices, and has particular reference to devices in which successive sheets are forwarded to a predetermined location. One object of the invention is to 5 improve prior devices of this character in respect to their quietness of operation. Another object is to provide grippers which engage the sheet near its forward edge only and do not return to their initial position through the path of the paper just delivered. Another object is the improvement of devices of this character by the elimination of mechanically actuated grippers.

Another object is the provision of a simple and effective means for varying the terminal location 15 to which the sheets are fed. A further object is to provide a sheet feed capable of operation upon sheets cut from the leading end of a continuous web, in which both the length of sheet and its terminal position can be varied at will. Addi- 20 tional objects will appear from the followin description and claims.

Referring to the drawings;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the web feeding end of my improved device;

Fig. 2 is a similar view looking from the opposite side;

Fig. 3 is a detail;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the web feeding and sheet delivering mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and FiFig. 7' is an enlarged detail of parts shown in The paper feed is designed to cut individual wrapping sheets from a roll of paper, cellophane, or other wrapping material, and to forward the cut sheets into the desired registration position such for example as a position directly above an article which is to be wrapped by suitable mechanism. The entire paper feed mechanism is supported on a sub-frame. 10 which is attached to the main frame 11 by bolts 12. A roll of paper 13 is mounted upon a cross shaft 14 rotatable in open top journal boxes 15. From the roll the paper web 16 is drawn over a steel roll 17 fixed'on a cross shaft 18, passing in its way under a tension roll 19 mounted on arms 20 subjected to a steady torque by a spring 21, as shown in Fig, 2. A cork 'surfaced'roll 22 is spring-pressed down upon the roll 17 to give a positive grip to the paper. A lever 23 having a cam surface 24 may be provided to lift the shaft of the cork roll when it is desired to insert the leading end of a new web.

The roll 17 is driven by a ratchet mechanism permitting very fine adjustment of the length of .addition to this action, a slight backward motion -of the roll 17 is given by the arm 4'! at each elevation of the paper knife, the slot 49 permittin paper fed at each cycle. For this purpose one end of the shaft is surrounding by a free sleeve 25 (Fig. 3) having a pinion 26 (Fig. 2) fixed to it, the pinion meshing with a rack 27 reciprocable in a guide 28 pivoted about the sleeve. The lower end of the rack 27 is connected to a block 29 adjustably secured by a bolt 30-upon the rod-like end 31 of a bell-crank lever 32 pivoted to the sub-frame at 33. The other end of the bell-crank is slotted as at 34 to receive a crank 35 fast upon the end of the main paper feed drive shaft 36. Secured to the sleeve 25 is the outer member 3'? (Fig. 3) of a ball ratchet or free wheeling unit, the inner member 38 of which is fixed to the shaft. This construction permits the adjustment of the length of paper fed at each cycle to any desired degree of fineness, by changing the position of the block, instead of having the adjustment limited to multiples of the pitch of the ratchet teeth as in prior constructions. It has the further advantage of being noiseless in action. The shaft 36 is driven continuously during the operation of the paper feed. As the roll 17 rotates, the roll 22 is rotated at an equal peripheral speed by means of the usual connecting gears;

After the paper web leaves the rolls 17, 22, it passes under a vertically reciprocable knife 40 which may be standard in its detailed construction and is, therefore, not described in detail. The knife is actuated at intervals by arms 41- on a. shaft 42, which push the knife downwardly against the action of springs to sever the paper. Shaft 42 has an arm 43 to which is coupled a link 44 formed at its lower end to straddle the shaft 36.- A cam roll 45 on the link rides upon a cam 46 secured to the shaft.

The shaft 42 also'bears an arm 47 having at its free end a pin 48 passing into a slot 49 inone end of an arm 50. This arm is formed as a semicircular brake band encircling a drum 51 on the roll shaft 18. A second semi-circular brake band 52 is joined to the first by springs 53, so that a constant restraint is placed upon the rotation of roll 17, preventing any tendency to overrun. In

the knife to descend without eiiect on the roll. The backward rotation of the roll is allowed because of the ball ratchet which joins it to the operating mechanism; This short reverse rotation after the completion of the cutting operation is of value in freeing the paper from the knife, a tendency to stick being sometimes bothersome in the case of wax-treated paper webs.

a shaft 63, around guide pulleys 64 loose on a shaft- 65, and around pulleys 66 on a shaft held in arms 67 adjustably secured by clamp bolts to a rod 68.

. The shaft 63 is provided with a gear 69 (Fig. 2)

meshing with a gear 70 .on the paper feed drive shaft 36. The upper belts 61 pass around rolls 71 fixed on a shaft 72, around idlers 73 mounted on arms 74 adjus'tably mounted on a rod 75, and around adjusting rolls 76 and terminal rolls 77, the two latter rolls 76 and 77 being mounted on opposite ends of a slide 78 adjustably secured by bolts 79 to a portion of the main frame. The slide also has shoe portions 80 which rest upon the upper surfaces of the lower runs of the belts 61 to provide a backing against which pressure may be exerted by the paper-carrying pads. The rolls 76 and '77, being mounted on the same slide, move back and forth with the slide so that their position can be varied without affecting the length of the belts. The shaft '72 is provided with a gear 80' meshing with a gear 81 on the shaft 65 previously referred to.

Situated directly below the belts are a pair of chains-82 running .around sprockets '83 and 84. The sprockets 83 are secured to the shaft 65 and the sprockets 84 to an idle shaft 85. Attached to each chain area plurality (two as shown) of pads 86 pivotally attached at 87 to clips 88 seis secured to the pad and presses against the chain to urge the paper-contacting surface 90 of the pad outwardly.

The operation of the sheet-delivering mechanism will now be described. As the feed rolls 17 and 22 first start to rotate at the beginning of a cycle, the leading end of the paper web is fed first past the knife 40 and then between the staggered belts 60 and 61. These belts are continuously rotating, but due to their staggered relation they. do not grip the paper. Rather do they exert what may be called a stroking'action on the paper, exerting enough friction to keep the leading end of the web extended. beyond the knife. 'The belts, and also the pads 86, move at a constant speed which is preferably greater than the maximum speed with which the leading endof the web is projected by the feet rollers, so that the paper is kept smooth and is prevented from piling "up. The speed with which the web is projected may vary, but whether it is being fed out at a constant speed-or is accelerating or decelerating does not change the manner in which the belts and pads operate upon it. When the paper feed rolls stop, the forward movement of the web of course stops also; while the belts continue tomove at their same steady rate, slip- ,ping over the extended end of the web until it is'cut off by the action of the knife. During this same period a pair of pads 86 (one oneach I chain 82) are carried around the sprockets 83 so that their surfaces 90 press the web against the under surfaces of the belts 61. the pressure is-not great enough to prevent slipping. of'the continuously moving pads while the end of the web is'held stationary; but is merely the web, the chains being adjusted as will be de- Here again scribed below to the proper timing for the size of the sheet to be cut.

At the instant of severance,the cut sheet is held between the belts 60 and 61 and between the belts 61 and the pads 86. Both sets of belts and the chains 82 move with the same constant surface speed. It will be noted that the upper set of belts 61 and the chains extend beyond the lower belts, support of the under surface of the cut sheet (held by the pads at its front edge only) being assumed by guidemembers 91 and a plate 92 as soon as the sheet passes beyond the range mined solely by the amount of rotation given at each cycle to the feed rolls 17 and 22, a matter governed by the position of the block 29. The knife always operates at the same point in the machine cycle. When the length of sheet is varied, however, it is generally desirable to centerit with respect to the delivery point, which requires an adjustment of the point to which the edge of the cut sheet is delivered by the pads. As pointed out above, this is accomplished merely by shifting the slide 78, which varies the position of roll -77 and hence the point at which the tractive power of the pads ends, and at the same time varies the position of the paper stop 93.

One further adjustment is necessitated by the desirability of having the pads 86 adjacent the leading end of the cut sheet during its-travel. It

will be recalled that the end of the web is projected past the knife by the intermittent feed rolls and is then held stationary in the interval between the stoppage of the rolls and the actua- With different lengths of sheet it will be obvious that the pads need to-be in different positions at the time the knife cuts. Provision for this is found in the drive for the shaft 65. A split sleeve 100 surrounds the shaft and projects with it through the frame 10. Upon this sleeve within the frame is fixed a gear 101 meshing with the gear 70 previously mentioned. A clamp' 102 is mounted on the sleeve outside the frame so that it can be secured to the shaft in any angular position desired. By loosening this clamp, the chains 82 can be shifted so as to bring thepads into proper registration with the end of the web at the instant of cut, this registra-,

operative position at each cycle of the machine.

In the case shown, there are two pads on each chain, so that the chains make one-half of a complete turn at each cycle. While the chains move constantly the initial feeding of the web is intermittent. Considering the chains as set by the adjustment just described for-one size of sheet, the movement of a pad up to edge gripping position from a position180 away may be considered in two sections, although in actuality there is no interruption to the pad's continuous motion. During the first section of this movein endless succession.

the cyclic travel of the pads it is. possible to vary the amount that the web is projected'beyond the cutter by changing the adjustment 29 without producing any corresponding change in the timing of the pads. Without such a change, however, the pad would be in different positions with respect to the leading edge of the web at the instant of .cut. By means of the adjustment 100, 102, it is possible to shift the pads so that they fall at the leading edge of the web when it is severed. This produces no change in the ultimate position in which the severed sheet is dropped, since that position depends upon the adjustment of the terminal pulleys 77 and not upon the adjustment of the chains 82. The projection of the chains beyond the terminal pulleys is purely idle,

and may be made any amount necessary to give the correct total length of chain to produce the spacing of pads required.

The invention can be put into practice with various forms of mechanism, that shown being preferred. The arrangement and design of the various parts will dependupon the use to.which the feeding mechanism isgto be put, and the invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the specific form shown. The pads operate on the sheet togrip and release it entirely without noise, and without the necessity for tripping devices necessarily employed where mechanically actuated grippers are used. Furthermore, the gripping members do not return to their initial position through the path of the sheet which they have justdelivered, but continue their uninterrupted motion back to their starting point without the necessity of waiting for the sheet just delivered to be removed. This greatly speeds up the operation of the device, particularly as a plurality of padsmay be provided following each other I claim;

1. A sheet feeding device comprising spaced supporting pulleys, a continuously moving endless conveyer passing around the pulleys, a second continuously moving conveyer opposed to the first and extending beyond the terminal supporting pulley thereof, and a pad on the second conveyer carry the sheet forward until released by the passage of the. first conveyer around the terminal supporting pulley. j

' 3. A sheet feeding device comprising a continuously moving conveyer having a straight run terminated by a supporting pulley, a second continuously moving conveyer opposed to the first and extending beyond the terminal supporting pulley, a pad on the second conveyeradapted to engage a sheet by pressing it against the first 1,927,585 ment the web 16 is stationary, the web feeding conveyer and to carry'the sheet forward until released by the passage of the first conveyer around the terminal supporting pulley, and a paper stop extending into the path of the paper beyond the terminal supporting pulley to prevent it from overrunning.

4? A sheet feeding device comprising a continuously moving'conveyer having an active run terminated by a supporting pulley, a second continuously moving conveyer opposed to the active run of the first and extending beyond the terminal supporting pulley, a pad on the second conveyer adapted to engage a sheet by pressing it against the first conveyer and to carry the sheet forward by such contact until released by the passage of the first conveyer around the terminal supporting pulley, and means to adjust the position of said terminal supporting pulley to vary the position to which the sheet is fed.

5. A sheet feeding device comprising a continuously moving endless conveyer having an active run bounded by a fixed pulley and a terminal pulley, and an inactive run bounded by said pulleys and having a reverse bend formed by an idle pulley and an adjusting pulley, the adjusting pulley beingnearer the fixed pulley than is the idle pulley, a. second conveyer opposed to the active run of thefirst and extending beyond the terminal pulley, a pad on the second conveyer adapted to engage a sheet by pressing it against the first conveyer and to carry the sheet forward by such contact until released by the passage of the first conveyer around the terminal pulley, a common support for the terminal and'adjusting pulley, and means to hold said support in' different positions to vary the position of the terminal pulley without varying. the length of the first conveyer.

6. A sheet feeding device comprising two opposed sets of staggered continuously running belts, one extending beyond the other, pulleys supporting the belts, intermittently operable meansfor feeding the leading end of a wrapper web between the staggeredv belts, a continuously running conveyer opposing and in line with the .longer of the two sets of staggered belts and extending beyond the terminal supporting pulley thereof, one or more pads on saidconveyer engaging the leading edge of the projected end of the wrapper web and pressing it fricti'onally against that one of the belts with which it is in line, so that .upon severance of the web after the pads have reached a point adjacent its leading edge the severed sheet will be carried by'the engagement between the pads and the mating belts until the pads pass beyond the terminal pulley of the latter.

7. A sheet feeding device comprising a continu ously moving conveyor presenting a sheet engaging surface, a second continuously movable conveyor. opposed to the first, and one or more pads on the second conveyor positioned to press the leadinge'dge of a sheet only against the first con- "against the first conveyor, and intermittently operable devices to project the leading edge of a sheet into the bite f the two conveyors and to hold it in that position until the sheet is gripp d ter is released, and means for releasing the sheet Y adjacent its leading edge I by the first conveyor and'a pad on the second conveyor.

-' 9. A sheet feeding device comprising two op-f posed sets ofstaggered continuously running belts," one extending-beyond the other, pulleys supporting the belts, an intermittently operable device for feeding theleading end oi'Ithe sheet between the staggered belts and'for' holding it while the belts slip over it to give it an initial support, a continuously, running conveyor opposing and in line with the )onger oi the two sets of staggered belts and extending beyond the terminal supporting pulley thereof, a pad onsaid conveyor engagingthe leading end of theprojecting sheet, pressing it iri'ctionally against that one of the belts with which it is in line, and slipping over the sheetuntil the latso that it may be moved by the frictional grip between the pad and its mating belt, and will be deposited by the passage 01' the pad beyond the terminal supporting pulley oi said belt.

10.A sheet feeding device comprising a continuously moving endless conveyer presenting a sheet engaging surface, a second continuously moving endless conveyer opposed to the first, one or more pads on the second conveyer yieldably pressed against the first conveyer, and devices operable to project the leading edge of a sheet into the bite of the two conveyers at a lower surface speed than that ,0! the conveyers and to release the sheet when it is gripped adjacent its leading edge by the first conveyer and a pad on the second conveyer.

,11. A sheet feeding device comprising two opposed sets of staggered continuously running conveyer.

speed than that of the belts, so that the belts slip over it to give it an initial support, a con tinuously running conveyer opposing and in line with the longer of the two sets of staggered belts and extending beyondtthe terminal supporting pulley thereof, a pad .on said conveyer engaging the projecting end of the sheet, pressing it frictionally against that one of the belts with which it is in line,-and slipping over the sheet until the latter is released, and means for-res leasing the sheet so that'it may be moved by the frictional grip between the pad and its mating belt, and will be deposited by thepassage of the pad beyond idle terminal supporting pul- I the first and extending beyond the terminal supporting pulley thereof, a pad on the second conveyer engaging the sheet by pressing it against the first conveyer and terminating its engage- .ment with the sheet by passing beyond said terminal supporting pulley, and devices operable I to project the leading edge of a sheet into the bite of the two conveyers at a lower surface speed than that of the conveyers and to release the sheet when itis gripped adjacent its leading edge by the first conveyer and a pad on the second HERMANN' OTTO FISCHER. EREQERIC B. FULLER. 

